Badaun (UTTAR PRADESH)  /  Hyderabad (TELANGANA) :

At a time when the tribe of Telugu litterateurs, especially from Telangana, with command over Urdu was becoming endangered, arrived a man from a village in West Godavari, who spent about two decades learning Urdu.

P V Suryanarayana Murthy a journalist by profession, has over the years, not only written Urdu shayeri (poetry) but with Mahak Hyderabadi as his takhallus (penname), also penned poems and ghazals. That’s not all.

He translated afsane (short stories) by Jeelani Banu and got them published in Telugu newspapers and magazines. When he counted them last it stood at 21; enough for a publisher to come forward with an anthology. The name of the collection, since released, is titled Guppita Jaare Isukaor Sookhi Raith (Dry Sand).

“I came from Coastal Andhra and settled down in Hyderabad for mainly two reasons-the city was warm towards people from all parts of the country and two, the Urdu language. The language struck me as a goldmine. Any researcher who has access to this language would get to know a rare portrait of India. The language has given me a better understanding of my country… I chose Jeelani Banu for translation because I could relate to most of her stories… They carry a message without being preachy or propagandist. They have the local flavour along with the halo of universality,” says Murthy.

Jeelani Banu is arguably the most recognised writers in the Urdu World. At 82 she is frail and facing age related issues, but still likes to oblige admirers by sitting down with them or attending meetings at their requests. Amazingly, she does not carry an iota of that intimidating celebrity aura.

Born in UP’s Badaun, in 1934, Jeelani Banu arrived in Hyderabad with her illustrious father Hairat Badauni at a time when the city was bubbling with a whole lot of activities-literary, social, religious and political. Perhaps the feudal life with all its glamour and flaws was at its peak. She got engrossed in observing that life and by 1954 she had her first afsana, Mom ki Mariyam (Mariyam of wax), published. The story created a stir as it dealt with the pathetic living conditions of people in a village near Hyderabad.

The episode associated with the publication of that afsana goes like this. One day, revolutionary poet Maqdoom Mohiuddin knocked on the door of his friend Hairat Badauni and said he would like to see her daughter. That was also the time when Jeelani Banu observed pardah. Hairat Badauni called her out. She apprehended that Maqdoom would chide her for writing that afsana because it was not soft on Leftists. Instead, Maqdoom gave her his blessings and said she should write what her heart dictates. Jeelani Banu, since then, never bogged down in the war between Progressive and Modernist writings.

“I had kept my eyes fixed on people. The happiness and trauma that followed the historic events of 1947 and 1948 became my area of interest. I am witness to the collapse of the feudal system and the rise of democracy. Those times and the changes reflect in my writings,” she has said.

Amena Tahseen, Director Centre for Women Studies at Maulana Azad National Urdu University, describes Jeelani Banu as a chronicler of time who has to her credit 22 books that include collections of her short stories and two novels. Shyam Benegal’s 2009 national award winning film ‘Well Done Abba’ was based on her afsana, Narsaiah ki Baudi (Narsaiah’s well).

Noted writer and Shagufta Editor Mustafa Kamal believes that Jeelani Banu is essentially a Progressive Writer who flowed into Modernism without losing out on the essential elements of story-telling. Her stories carry the flavour of Telangana. The way she presented women issues make her a feminist. But she does not flaunt her ‘feminism.’

Jeelani Banu’s afsane and novels have been translated in all major Indian languages and English. She was even conferred with the Padma Shri in 2001.

Tahseen compares Jeelani Banu with Mahasweta Devi, the Bengali writer who passed away on last week. “While Devi focused on the plight of tribals, Banu spoke about the under-privileged. In her works, woman comes across alive and ready to face the challenges. Like Devi, Banu too is an activist. There are several organisations with which she is either associated or extends support to,” she says.

Not surprisingly, Murthy feels privileged to have translated her afsane into Telugu. “In spite of so many awards, I think her works have not been properly appreciated by people among whom she lives. Hyderabad should be proud to have a writer like her,” he says.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / July 31st, 2016